Dr Sarah Legge, professor at the University of Queensland, told The Guardian: “If we want native wildlife in our towns and cities – rather than introduced rodents and birds – then there are choices to be made.

“All we need to do is keep pet cats contained.

“If we accept that feral cats in the bush are a problem, then we have to accept that pet cats in town are also a problem.”

The findings were based on a review of 66 studies on predation by pet cats worldwide, including 24 Australian studies.

The researchers wrote: “Pet cats kill introduced species more often than do feral cats living in natural environments, but, nonetheless, the toll of native animals killed per square kilometre by pet cats in residential areas is still much higher than the toll per square kilometre by feral cats.”

“The high predation toll of pet cats in residential areas, the documented examples of declines and extirpations in populations of native species caused by pet cats, and potential pathways for other, indirect effects (e.g. from disease, landscapes of fear, ecological footprints), and the context of extraordinary impacts from feral cats on Australian fauna, together support a default position that pet cat impacts are serious and should be reduced.”